Indholdsfortegnelse for January (Yearbook) 2023 i Home Cinema Choice

The last couple of years have been a tricky period for electronics makers, particularly those of AV receivers. The pandemic curtailed production, an AKM DAC factory went up in smoke, and early HDMI 2.1 chipsets had more bugs than the final of I'm a Celebrity. So it's great that we're now over that triple-pronged hump. An AVR, or processor/amp combi, is the heart of a home cinema system, conducting loudspeaker performance and acting as the bridge between source and display. And the market is at its best when there are plenty of options available, across a wide price range. The newly arrived Primare SPA25, reviewed on p32, easily ranks as a 'premium' model! Elsewhere in this special yearbook issue of HCC we revisit brilliant AV hardware from the last 12…

Press play Discs spinning your way in the coming month… December 12 City Lights Decision to Leave The Forgiven The Iceman Cometh: Deluxe Col Ed. The Lost King Magic, Myth & Mutilation: Michael J. Murphy, 1967-2015 Miami Vice [2006] Mississippi Masala The Outer Limits: The Complete Original Series Raised by Wolves: Season Two Silent Running 4K Snake and Crane Arts of Shaolin Wim Wenders: A Curzon Collection Yes, Madam! December 19 House of the Dragon: S1 4K The English The Feast [2022] Gangs of London: Season Two Ju-On: The Grudge Collection 4K December 26 Clerks III The Cursed 4K For All Mankind: S1/S2 Kick-Ass 4K See: S1/S2 Shrek 2: Limited Edition 4K The Velvet Underground January 2 Big Time Gambling Boss Emily the Criminal Married to the Mob The Working…

PRIMARE SPA25/£5,000 Earlier this year we looked at the A35.8 from Primare (HCC #331), a multichannel power amp that signalled the Swedish brand was turning its attention once again to the cinematic side of the home audio business. And if that model had niche appeal, its new SPA25 AVR is more mass-market – albeit with a £5,000 price tag. A glance over the specifications shows this receiver has been designed to cover all (well, nearly all) of the modern home cinema bases, while retaining the audiophile air of Primare's catalogue of two-channel hardware. So it offers Dolby Atmos and DTS:X decoding, Dirac room correction and Dolby Vision and HDR10+ passthrough, in conjunction with Primare's bespoke network audio platform (Prisma) and some hi-fi centric touches. Perhaps a better way to look…

WWW.DENON.COM/£599 LAUNCHED IN OCTOBER 2021, but still on sale now, Denon's AVR-X1700H was the company's first AVR to put problems with first-gen HDMI 2.1 chips in the rear-view mirror. Three of its six HDMI inputs handle gaming features including 4K at 120Hz, variable refresh rates, Quick Frame Transport, and Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) – when there was only one such input on Denon’s first wave of ‘8K capable’ AVRs. And these 40GB connections work right out of the box, including the 4K/120 feeds from the Xbox Series X that wouldn’t work on Denon’s 2020-released models until an all-new production run began in May 2021. The X1700H is confident enough about its HDMI prowess, in fact, to display detailed information on the HDMI signal it’s receiving. This is very helpful…

WWW.MUSICALFIDELITY.COM/£3,099 HERE'S SOMETHING I wasn't expecting: an audio brand known for its high-end hi-fi products, and association with turntable maker Pro-Ject (which acquired the company in 2018), launching a seven-channel power amp. Furthermore, the M6x 250.7 is the first of three multichannel amps incoming from Musical Fidelity – apparently there are five-channel and 11-channel models, based around the same technology, due to launch. There's no word yet of any matching processor, but if one does arrive it will no doubt offer a balanced output to match the M6x 250.7's seven balanced inputs, on XLR connections, found on the rear panel. There's also the option of an unbalanced connection via RCA, plus – unusually – RCA output terminals. These enable the input signal to one amp module to be looped to…

WWW.PANASONIC.CO.UK/£1,999 PANASONIC HAS LONG pushed the picture envelope for OLED, but this year claims a significant advance, thanks to an overall boost in image brightness. Its flagship LZ2000 screen is built around the OLED EX panel design from LG Display, but augmented with a proprietary heatsink plus modifications inside the cell itself. The brand also carries out pixel-by-pixel uniformity compensation on this particular high-end display. There's clearly a lot of black box R&D at work behind the scenes. Yet the LZ2000 story isn't just one of improved brightness. Sound also gets an uplift. New for this model is an advanced front array speaker system that introduces novel sound steering technology, where beam forming allows the user to steer the output left or right, to better serve a particular listening position.…

WWW.SONY.CO.UK/£2,399 SAMSUNG ISN'T THE only brand to combine OLED’s self-emissive contrast talents and the brightness/colour benefits of Quantum Dots in a TV this year. Sony is also in on the QD OLED act with its A95K series, in 55in (tested here) and 65in versions that command a premium over Samsung’s already discounted S95B TV (HCC #334). Is the extra cost justified? Aesthetically the £2,399 XR-55A95K is a chunky beast by modern standards. There’s still something stylish about it in an industrial kind of way, though, and I appreciate having the choice of whether to attach it to the front or back of its heavy-duty metal stand. There’s an excuse for its bulk in the shape of Sony's Acoustic Surface audio tech, where actuators behind the screen – that turn it…

WWW.POLKAUDIO.COM/£1,175 POLK AUDIO'S LOWER-TIER loudspeaker proposition, below its mid-range Reserve models (HCC #323), the Monitor XT lineup offers, on the face of it, everything a walletworried system builder could wish for – floorstanders, bookshelf and centre models in two different sizes, plus an Atmos upfiring module and powered subwoofer. Auditioned here is a 5.1.2 set assembled with an eye on affordability. Our main L/R models are the smaller XT60 towers (£349p/p), which are a perfect fit for Polk's XT90 Atmos units. Two of these sell for £180, meaning adding two more for a 5.1.4 rig might be within your reach. They would sit neatly on the bigger XT20 bookshelf models (£250), but our array uses the smaller £149 XT15s. The difference between the two Monitor XT centres is that one…

WWW.BOWERSWILKINS.COM/£849 SPECIFICATIONS DRIVERS: 3 x0.75in tweeters; 6 x2in bass/ mid; 2 x2in Dolby Atmos upfirers; 2 x4in bass drivers ONBOARD POWER (CLAIMED): 400W CONNECTIONS: 1 xHDMI eARC; 1 xoptical digital audio in; Ethernet DOLBY ATMOS/DTS:X: Yes/No SEPARATE SUB: No REMOTE: No DIMENSIONS: 1,210(w) x 65(h) x 140(d)mm WEIGHT: 6.5kg FEATURES: 3.1.2 Dolby Atmos playback; Dolby Digital Plus; stereo/5.1 upmixing; wall-mountable; Apply AirPlay 2; Spotify Connect; Bluetooth v5.0; Amazon Alexa built-in; Bowers & Wilkins Music app (incl. Deezer, Qobuz, Tidal and TuneIn) BOWERS & WILKINS' Panorama 3 soundbar may not come with a subwoofer, but it still drops deep. I've got Bad Guy booming out, and the bass beat on this Billie Eilish 'banger' is brutal. The instrumentation is minimal, but the 'bar still spreads it wide, musical flourishes placed far…

WWW.HARMANKARDON.CO.UK/£799 SPECIFICATIONS DRIVERS: 6 x55x90mm ‘racetrack’ drivers; 3 x1in tweeters; 2 x3in upfirers ONBOARD POWER (CLAIMED): 630W CONNECTIONS: 1 xHDMI in; 1 xHDMI eARC; optical digital audio DOLBY ATMOS/DTS:X: Yes/No SEPARATE SUB: No (optional) REMOTE: Yes DIMENSIONS: 1,150(w) x 65(h) x 130(d)mm WEIGHT: 4.6kg FEATURES: HDR, Dolby Vision and 4K passthrough; Auto Calibration; MultiBeam technology; Google Home; Apple AirPlay, Alexa Multi-room Music and Chromecast support; touchscreen control; wireless sub and rear speaker upgrades; Harman PureVoice technology; Bluetooth; Wi-Fi A RESURRECTION OF a name Harman Kardon used in the 1950s, Citation is a multiroom ecosystem based around the Google Home platform, and comprises 12 products. There are desktop and tower speakers, an amp for connecting legacy hardware, even a clock radio. And then there are soundbars, the £799 Citation MultiBeam 1100…

WWW.PHILIPS.CO.UK/£699 SPECIFICATIONS DRIVERS: 2 xupfirers; 2 xside-firing surrounds; 6 xmid-range (L/C/R); 3 xtweeter (L/C/R); 2 x3.5in woofers ONBOARD POWER (CLAIMED): 310W CONNECTIONS: 1 xHDMI in; 1 xHDMI eARC; optical digital audio in; USB DOLBY ATMOS/ DTS:X: Yes/Yes SEPARATE SUBWOOFER: No. Optional REMOTE: Yes DIMENSIONS: 1,200(w) x 73(h) x 120(d)mm WEIGHT: 7.2kg FEATURES: Bluetooth v5.0; dual-band Wi-Fi; DTS Play-Fi; Chromecast; Spotify Connect; Works with Alexa, Apple AirPlay 2 and Google Assistant; USB file playback; 40Hz-20kHz claimed freq. response; IMAX Enhanced; auto-calibration; 4K/60, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision passthrough; Fine Tune app CALL ME EASILY impressed, but it was within minutes of getting Philips' Fidelio FB1 soundbar up and running that I'd decided I was smitten. Not by its audio performance – at least, not at that point – but by the illuminated…

WWW.BENQ.EU/£1,099 SPECIFICATIONS 3D: Yes. Active shutter 4K: Yes. 3,840 x 2,160 via TI DLP technology HDR: Yes. HDR10; HLG CONNECTIONS: 2 xHDMI in; 1 xUSB; 3.5mm audio out; RS232 port BRIGHTNESS (CLAIMED): 2,000 Lumens CONTRAST (CLAIMED): 10,000:1 ZOOM: 1.3x DIMENSIONS: 312(w) x 110(h) x 246(d)mm WEIGHT: 3.1kg FEATURES: Single-chip DLP projector; built-in mono 5W sound; BenQ CinematicColor; Filmmaker Mode; fast response mode for low input lag (16ms claimed with 4K/60, 8ms with 1080/120); keystone correction; ISF calibration support; 15,000hr claimed max lamp life; multiple lamp output settings, including adaptive SmartEco; 1.127-1.46:1 throw ratio; optional Android TV dongle PROJECTORS, FOR BETTER or for worse, seem to be getting more and more specialised. There are education projectors, business projectors, gaming projectors and, of course, home cinema projectors. Happily for us, BenQ very…

WWW.SONY.CO.UK/£5,999 SPECIFICATIONS 3D: No 4K: Yes. 3,840 x 2,160 HDR: Yes. HDR10; HLG CONNECTIONS: 2 xHDMI in; USB; Ethernet; 12V trigger; IR input; RS-232C BRIGHTNESS (CLAIMED): 2,000 Lumens CONTRAST (CLAIMED): 'Infinity to 1' (dynamic) ZOOM: 1.6x DIMENSIONS: 460(w) x 200(h) x 472(d)mm WEIGHT: 13kg FEATURES: SXRD technology; laser light source w/claimed average life of 20,000hrs; 24dB claimed fan noise; Wide Dynamic Range Optics; X1 Ultimate for Projector processor; Motionflow; Reality Creation; Object-based HDR Remaster; Dynamic HDR Enhancer; Input Lag Reduction; 1.38-2.21:1 throw ratio; manual controls for zoom, shift and focus; IMAX Enhanced SONY WENT ALL-IN on lasers for its 2022 projector lineup, with no fewer than five native 4K models using the tech to generate their images. New models are the VPL-XW7000ES, with a rated 3,200 Lumens brightness and £14,999…

WWW.PERLISTENAUDIO.COM/£8,100 SPECIFICATIONS DRIVERS: 2 x15in carbon fibre woofers ENCL: Sealed ONBOARD POWER (CLAIMED): 3,000W ('short-term RMS') Class D FREQ. RESP (CLAIMED): 13Hz-210Hz (-10dB) REMOTE: No. App instead DIMENSIONS: 805(h) x 500(w) x 650.5(d)mm WEIGHT: 92kg FEATURES: Stereo/LFE line-level on both unbalanced RCA and balanced XLR; RCA and XLR line-level output; 0-270-degree variable phase; 30Hz-160Hz low-pass filter; 32-bit ARM Cortex M4 processor; 48-bit TI DSP engine; 2.4in LCD touchscreen display; iOS and Android app with preset EQs and 10-band parametric EQ; Certified THX Dominus; 12V trigger; auto-on PERLISTEN AUDIO KNOWS how to make an entrance. A new brand out of Wisconsin in the US, it debuted with its S Series loudspeaker range (see p54), and to avoid the trap of only appealing to music lovers, delivered a range of subwoofers to…

UK.JBL.COM/£110 THE FLIP 6 is the latest iteration of JBL's wildly popular portable Bluetooth speaker. The brand has sold millions of these things, and after spending time with this new addition it’s easy to see why. JBL has wrung some cosmetic changes this time around, and introduced a new audio configuration. Dual passive radiators at each end sandwich a racetrack woofer and tweeter. The soundstage is surprisingly fulsome. The Flip 6 delivers bass without getting heavy-handed, has lovely, crisp highs, and can call on copious volume. But this isn’t just for music. Paired with a smartphone, it becomes a compelling outdoor telly option. Screen resting neatly against speaker, Sky Go app connected to my Sky Q box, I used the Flip 6 for all manner of casual viewing when I…

WWW.CABASSE.COM/£2,299 THE PEARL KESHI is a high-end 2.1 audio system with an enviable sense of style. The spherical centrepiece, ostensibly the system subwoofer but actually far more, has a classy matte finish and smart pedestal stand. The two titchy, tethered satellite speakers have matching silver trim. The package is small, innocuous even, but sounds huge. Connectivity on the sub runs to microUSB, optical digital audio, analogue stereo minijack and Ethernet to supplement onboard Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The system is Apple AirPlay capable, and can stream via UPnP. Yet there’s no HDMI, which is a missed opportunity. Setup isn’t quite as slick as the cosmetics, as a Bluetooth remote control needs to be paired with the main unit before you can connect the Keshi to your smartphone. And don't skip ARCS…

SKY Q 4K HDR/BUYING BLU-RAYS I'm mixing discs with VOD An interesting letter in HCC #336 from Roland about rental/purchase streaming versus physical object collecting. Having had 15 years of reviews deleted from Amazon a few years ago (I can’t even email them), I am always aware of cancel culture hitting any time for no reason. Yet I am also painfully short on shelf space since acquiring a projector ten years ago. Blu-rays bloomed, 3Ds blossomed, boxsets bulged. Recently I hovered over a 4K box set of six Jurassic Park/Jurassic World movies for sixty quid but then noticed they were available special offer via Prime for £20 including the extended final film. Done deal. Never much of a fan of the movies, I found there is a serious side to…

➜ NOPE After their father dies in a freak accident, stoic O.J. Haywood (Daniel Kaluuya) and his fast-talking sister Emerald (Keke Palmer) are left holding the reins to the family business, training stunt horses for the film industry. And when horses start to go missing from their ranch, the siblings come to realise that something very strange is going on – something to do with the peculiar, unmoving cloud that has parked itself in the sky nearby. Soon the duo are determined to capture proof of a flying saucer on camera... Every bit the tense and exciting sci-fi-horror blockbuster, Nope can certainly be enjoyed as simply a thrilling, unpredictable reimagining of the classic UFO film. However, writer-director Jordan Peele (Get Out, Us) simultaneously uses his bigscreen canvas to challenge our…

BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN/INFERNAL AFFAIRS God of War Ragnarok Sony Interactive Entertainment/Santa Monica Studio ➜ PS5, PS4 ➜ £69 The exclusive God of War series has always been synonymous with PlayStation consoles, with the trials of Kratos having played out on each Sony machine since the PS2. But it was only in 2018’s God of War PS4 reboot that Santa Monica Studio truly bottled lightning. Making it as much an RPG as a combat-led action-adventure was a masterstroke, as was shifting the setting to the lands of Norse mythology. Now the developer is hoping it has struck twice with a direct sequel – and it has. God of War Ragnarok is superb; a well-crafted game with a heartfelt story that follows-on from the last outing seamlessly, yet manages to outdo…

AV-HOLIC Welcome to the AV-Holic Hall of Fame – introduce yourself! Hi, I'm Steve French. I'm 53 and work as a Video Streaming Architect. How long have you been into home cinema? For over 30 years, although my current system is the first time I've had a projector. My first setup was a Pioneer stereo back in the 1980s! When did you decide to build your cinema room? Back in 2020 during the first Covid lockdown. Cinemas were closed and I had a spare room... What kit's in your system? I have a Sony VPL-VW290ES 4K projector, which is used with a 124in DIY screen, made with acoustically transparent material from Seymour AV. My speaker system features Focal 100IWLCR5s for L/C/R, four Focal ICW6s in the ceiling and two Focal…

I OFTEN WAX lyrical about immersive audio, be it Dolby Atmos, 360 Reality Audio or Auro 3D. But to be literally, physically immersed in audio is something else entirely. I’m sitting with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The brass, a row of gleaming gold, is just behind me, and to my right sits the bass section. To make the situation even more extraordinary I’m in Studio One of Abbey Road, a cavernous space where some of the greatest film soundtracks have been recorded. When the RPO break into Monty Norman’s James Bond theme, it’s loud, startling even. I feel dizzy with excitement – shaken and stirred. Clearly my home cinema system has a long way to go before it can even begin to match this kind of immersion. I’ve talked with…

DREAM THEATRE OF THE YEAR/WWW.ATHOMECINEMA.CO.UK KIT CHECKLIST ANTHEM: AVM 60 processor; MCA 525 power amp ARTCOUSTIC: PDA1000 amplifier; 2 xSpitfire Control 1 subwoofers AUDIO EXCELLENCE: Control 48 DSP; Quattro 06 power amp; 2 xRaijuu 1 in-wall subwoofers; 4 xVertex 1 (surrounds/height); 3 xVertex 2 (LCR) CINEMA BUILD SYSTEMS: Fabric wall covering/track FURMAN: 4 xAC210 power conditioners GIK ACOUSTICS: 6 xAlpha 4A absorption panels; 6 xMonster Bass Trap absorption panels; 4 xT70 tuned membrane bass absorption panels (70Hz frequency tuning); 8 xVersiFusor diffusors INEVA SEATING: McFarland bespoke seating KALEIDESCAPE: 6TB Strato 4K movie player MIDDLE ATLANTIC: Equipment racking PROTOPIXEL: 2 x8-channel LED controllers; Node Pixel LED Scene playback device; RGBW LED tape SCREEN EXCELLENCE: 100in wide, 2.40:1 ratio Discovery projector screen with Enlightor Neo AT material and masking SIM2: Domino 4…

UK.YAMAHA.COM/£1,949 SPECIFICATIONS DOLBY ATMOS: Yes DTS:X: Yes IMAX ENHANCED: No MULTICHANNEL PRE-OUT: Yes. 11.2-channel MULTICHANNEL OUTPUT (CLAIMED): 9 x185W (8ohm, 1ch driven) MULTIROOM: Yes. Zone 2 plus MusicCast HDMI: 7 xinputs and 3 xoutputs AV INPUTS: 5 xdigital audio (3 x optical and 2 xcoaxial); 6 xanalogue stereo DIMENSIONS: 435(w) x 192(h) x 442(d)mm WEIGHT: 20.3kg FEATURES: YPAO auto calibration; stereo XLR input/pre-out; Cinema DSP; Surround: AI processing; Auro-3D; USB; Ethernet; Wi-Fi; Bluetooth; headphone; Pure Direct mode; user customisable Scenes; H Frame chassis; High Slew Rate amplifiers; ES9026PRO and ES9007S DACs; backlit remote AS PART OF Yamaha's flagship Aventage receiver lineup, the RX-A6A is a big brooding beast of an AVR, and it has the performance to match – film and music playback is never less than enthralling. Ask me…

WWW.EMOTIVA.COM/£749 SPECIFICATIONS POWER OUTPUT (CLAIMED): 5 x95W (8ohm, all channels driven, 20Hz-20kHz, 0.1% THD); 120W/8ohm (two channels driven) CONNECTIONS: 5 xphono inputs; 5 xspeaker terminals; 12V i/o DIMENSIONS: 432(w) x 102(h) x 394(d)mm WEIGHT: 12kg FEATURES: Class A/B power amplifier technology; custom toroidal linear power supply; dimmable status LEDs; fault protection; steel chassis with milled aluminium faceplate BACK IN THE day, a five-channel power amplifier might have been all you needed to hookup with an AV processor for home cinema separates heaven. Now, audio systems can reach 11 channels and beyond, so are they still needed? Emotiva certainly thinks so. Its BasX A5, rated at a solid 95W per channel into 8ohms, sells for the bargain price of £749. The BasX range is the American company's entry-level, below the higher-spec,…

WWW.TRINNOV.COM/£13,000 SPECIFICATIONS POWER OUTPUT (CLAIMED): 16 x 200W (8ohm); 16 x 400W (4ohm); bridged pairs rated at 800W (8ohm) and 1,000W (4ohm) CONNECTIONS: 2 xDB25 female inputs; 16 x 5-way binding posts; 12V input; 12V output DIMENSIONS: 482(w) x 132(h) x 452(d)mm WEIGHT: 20.5kg FEATURES: Dual eight-channel ICEpower Class D amplifiers with separate power supplies/sockets; bridgeable channel pairs; maximum 3,200W total power output across 16 channels; status LEDs (can be turned off); clipping sensor; rack ears TRINNOV HAS FORGED a reputation when it comes to home cinema sound, its Altitude32 and Altitude16 (HCC #287/#322) processors setting a high bar. But given a processor is only as good as the amp it’s partnered with, it figured it had better build some. The brand currently offers three: the Amplitude8, the Amplitude8m, and…

WWW.SAMSUNG.COM/£4,799 SAMSUNG MIGHT HAVE reentered the OLED arena with is QD-infused S95B model (HCC #334), but still sees Mini LED as its top-flight TV tech. And on the evidence of the 75in QE75QN900B, it has a point. This TV is good enough to justify its premium price tag. For starters, it looks incredible. Samsung's king-sized screen sits in an astonishingly slim frame, and at the front of a much slimmer rear than on last year's equivalent model. Side panels are finished in a neat perforated metal finish, and to help preserve its minimalist elegance, the TV ships with an external connections box that links to the screen via a single cable. This box can slot onto the 75QN900B's desktop support neck if you're not wall-hanging your new telly. Also contributing…

WWW.TCL.COM/UK/£999 SPECIFICATIONS 4K: Yes. 3,840 x 2,160 HDR: Yes. HDR10; HDR10+; HLG; Dolby Vision TUNER: Yes. Freeview HD; satellite HD CONNECTIONS: 4 xHDMI in; 2 xUSB; Ethernet; optical digital audio output 4K/120 PLAYBACK: Yes SOUND (CLAIMED): 2 x15W + 30W sub BRIGHTNESS (CLAIMED): 1,500 nits ('peak') CONTRAST RATIO (CLAIMED): N/A DIMENSIONS (OFF STAND): 1,447(w) x 838(h) x 53(d)mm WEIGHT (OFF STAND): 19.2kg FEATURES: Wi-Fi; Bluetooth; Mini LED lighting with 288 dimming zones; Game Bar; VRR (including AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync); ALLM; Onkyo-designed sound system; Dolby Atmos decoding; Google TV; Quantum Dot colour; AiPQ 2.0 picture processing engine; Amazon Alexa support WHILE LG, PHILIPS, Sony and Samsung like to act as if they’re the originators of Mini LED, it was TCL that truly pioneered it as a consumer technology. As…

WWW.QACOUSTICS.COM/£4,225 IT WAS 2013 when Q Acoustics launched its Concept range. At the time, the UK brand was known for affordable loudspeakers, so the arrival of the Concept 20 bookshelf was billed as a step toward the high-end. Okay, it was still on the right side of pricey, but later on in 2017 came floorstanders (the Concept 500s) at £4,000 a pair. After that the Concept range had a curious gap between its entry-level and premium points. But not anymore. The Concept 50 floorstander, Concept 30 standmount and Concept 90 centre speaker occupy that once-vacant space, and Q Acoustics has used these three speakers to assemble a mid-range 5.1 package, putting the '50 floorstanders up front, the '30s on surround, and roping in the pre-existing Q B12 subwoofer (see HCC…

WWW.SONY.CO.UK/£1,799 APPEARANCES CAN BE deceiving. Much like Oscar Isaac in Moon Knight, Sony’s HT-A9 four-speaker system looks relatively unassuming, even retro. But much like Marvel’s latest superhero, in full flight it transforms into something altogether more formidable. Comprising a quartet of enclosures plus a control box/source hub, the HT-A9 ushers in the concept of 360 Spatial Sound Mapping. This is quite a mouthful, but may well be the most exciting immersive audio technology I’ve heard since Dolby Atmos arrived. Think of it as immersive DSP-driven 3D sound. It’s a way of enveloping you within what appears to be a dozen phantom speakers, and uses two complementary Sony technologies: Soundfield Optimisation and Monopole Synthesis. The former is a fast calibration technique, using mics in each speaker to measure its position in…

UK.JBL.COM/£1,199 JBL’S TAKE ON a full-size wireless smart speaker, the L75ms is designed to be as happy competing with entry-level separates as it is beefing up your TV, and its approach is a little different to the norm. As part of the company’s Classic Series, its gets a very period-specific walnut finish, plus a distinctive ‘Quadrex’ foam grille. I'm surprised it doesn't come with a copy of Dark Side of the Moon on 8-track cartridge. Internally, this speaker is distinctive too. A stereo unit, each channel gets a 5.25in bass/ mid driver and 1in tweeter, angled slightly outwards to improve dispersion. There's then a central 4in midrange, which uses the speaker's DSP and takes elements of the left and right channels to 'fill' the soundstage. The L75ms's 21cm height is…

WWW.SAMSUNG.COM/UK/£1,299 THE FIRST THING to point out about the HW-Q990B is actually something it doesn't do, which is add any new sound channels. It sticks with the 11.1.4 configuration introduced by last year's Q950A (HCC #324), bringing to an end a proud Samsung tradition of steadily increasing channel counts in its sound systems. That said, the number of channels the Q990B has stuck on is still a lot. In fact, no other soundbar system I can think of offers more. And the point of all these drivers is to get as much power and surround sound joy from Atmos and DTS:X soundtracks as possible. The Q990B comprises four components: the main soundbar to go under your TV, a portly wireless subwoofer, and two wireless rears. These latter enclosures each deliver…

WWW.EPSON.CO.UK/£4,399 SPECIFICATIONS 3D: No 4K: Yes. Via Epson PRO-UHD 4K Enhancement HDR: Yes. HDR10; HLG; HDR10+ CONNECTIONS: 2 xHDMI inputs; Ethernet; 3 xUSB (one service; one power); 12V trigger; RS232 BRIGHTNESS (CLAIMED): 2,700 Lumens CONTRAST (CLAIMED): 2,500,000:1 ZOOM: 2.1x DIMENSIONS: 520(w) x 193(h) x 447(d)mm WEIGHT: 12.7kg FEATURES: 3LCD projector; 20,000 hours claimed lifespan; 30dB max quoted fan noise; 1.35-2.84:1 throw ratio; vertical lens shift (+/-96.3 per cent); horizontal lens shift (+/-47.1 per cent); motorised lens and focus; 10-position lens memory; motorised lens cover; frame interpolation; HDMI with HDCP 2.2, eARC and 4K/120Hz EPSON WAS THE first brand to offer a laser-powered projector at an affordable price with the EH-LS10000 in 2015 (HCC #247). That model remained its premium home cinema beamer for years, but finally we have a replacement…

WWW.HISENSE.CO.UK/£3,999 SPECIFICATIONS 3D: No 4K: Yes. 3,840 x 2,160 (via TI DLP technology) HDR: Yes. HDR10; HLG CONNECTIONS: 3 xHDMI in; 2 xUSB; optical digital audio out; Ethernet; headphone; composite; RF port BRIGHTNESS (CLAIMED): 3,000 Lumens CONTRAST (CLAIMED): N/A ZOOM: N/A DIMENSIONS (PJ): 610(w) x 155(h) x 346(d)mm WEIGHT (PJ): 15kg FEATURES: Built-in 40W audio system; Dolby Atmos decoding; 25,000-hour claimed laser lamp life; VIDAA smart system; Freeview Play; Ultra Motion MEMC processing; tri-laser system; Dynamic, Standard, HDR Day, HDR Night, HDR Sport presets for HDR content; 31cm throw for a 100in image IF YOU’RE READING this mag, you probably love a bigscreen viewing experience. You might even dream of either being able to afford a monster-sized 100in TV, or having somewhere to install a projector without messing up your…

UK.KEF.COM/£1,849 SPECIFICATIONS DRIVERS: 2 x9in aluminium/paper cone drivers ENCLOSURE: Sealed, dual-opposed driver config ONBOARD POWER (CLAIMED): 2 x500W Class D FREQ. RESP (CLAIMED): 11Hz-200Hz (-3dB) REMOTE: No DIMENSIONS: 353(h) x 330(w) x 361(d)mm WEIGHT: 20kg FEATURES: Stereo/LFE line-level input; speaker-level input; line-level output; high pass frequency control; five preset EQs; crossover/volume controls; 0-180 phase switch; compatible with KW1 wireless transmitter; Music Integrity Engine DSP IF YOU MANAGED to stay awake during physics classes at school, you might remember Newton’s Third Law of Motion, which states – in essence – that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. It’s a principle of classical mechanics that's been embraced by speaker and subwoofer manufacturers, allowing them to engineer a force-cancelling design to reduce cabinet vibrations and increase the maximum output. KEF is…

WWW.NANOLEAF.ME/£179 LINES IS THE latest wheeze from lighting company Nanoleaf, and its most attractive yet. It offers all the feature skills of earlier panels (HCC #308) but in a slimmer design that widens the scope for funky installations and feels less ...well, in your face. In the £179 starter kit you get nine Lines. Measuring 28cm long, these mount tiny wall-facing LEDs – creating a diffuse glow – behind a matte white skin (pink and black skins are optional extras). Contact points at both ends allow them to click into hexagonal connectors. These have an adhesive backing, so the Lines can be added to your wall without knocking holes, but they could also mount onto screwheads. One connector doubles as the controller, with socket to fit the supplied mains power…

WWW.DALI-SPEAKERS.COM/£379 THE ORIGINAL KATCH launched in 2016 and was a huge hit for Danish audio marque DALI. Therefore, the revisions that have been made for its second generation have not messed with the basics. This is still a Bluetooth-based speaker, but the fitment has now been updated to aptX HD and AAC. This is joined by a 3.5mm line input, plus a USB port for charging a smartphone or, it's suggested, a Chromecast Audio dongle. DALI has bolstered the battery life of the Katch to now offer a claimed 30 hours, which is surely more than enough for most users. The driver configuration is the same as before, with a 3.5in bass/mid driver augmented by a passive radiator, plus a 21mm tweeter. Both drivers are fed by their own 25W…

I REMEMBER THE days when owning an energy smart meter was fun. When I first got mine I roamed the house, switching off a light here and there, or powering down an amp or TV, to get a handle on how many pence every item was costing me to run. Now, in the dying days of 2022, I treat my smart meter as if it’s a malevolent entity. I try to never look it in the eye. After recently making the mistake of clocking its reading before I went to bed, I had nightmares. I would unplug the thing completely, but am scared it might zap me. Having wasted 30p of electricity just writing the above paragraph, I’ll get to my point. And brace yourself, because this is an incredibly…

➜ UNIVERSAL CLASSIC MONSTERS: ICONS OF HORROR COLLECTION -VOL. 2 A year on from the release of its first Icons of Horror Collection 4K boxset (see HCC #326), Universal Pictures is again unleashing vintage tales of terror. And the four titles chosen are (mostly) great. Instead of the now iconic shambling, bandageclad monster that would come to define the franchise, The Mummy (1932) is more a do-over of the previous year’s Dracula, starring Boris Karloff as the reborn mummy who sheds his dusty wrappings and sets about convincing Zita Johann’s flapper that she is the reincarnation of his ancient love. Equal parts witty satire, Grand Guignol horror and queer allegory, The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) is the only sequel included in the set, but merits inclusion for two very good…

Welcome to the AV-Holic Hall of Fame – introduce yourself! My name is Ken Britton, a 60-year-old, dyed-in-the-wool, AV-Holic. How long have you been into home cinema, and what was the first setup you had? I have loved movies as long as I can recall, but I was bitten by the AV bug in the 1970s when I laid eyes on a domestic projection system for the first time. I dabbled in the early 1980s with a TV and VCR connected through a decent hi-fi, before progressing to a rear-projection TV and 5.1 surround system when DVDs started to catch on. Then, just over 20 years ago, our local cinema closed so I got really serious with my first projector and screen and never looked back. Your cinema featured in…

Welcome to the AV-Holic Hall of Fame – introduce yourself! Hi, I'm Simon Young. I'm in my forties and work as a Solutions Architect in Yorkshire. How long have you been into home cinema, and what was the first setup you had? I've had an interest in technology and gadgets since I was a young 'un, and my AV passion has grown out of that in the last 20 years, starting off with an all-in-one home theatre system to go with a 'widescreen' CRT TV. When did you decide to setup your current system? Well, most of what's in my room now was also in the setup in our previous house. But when we moved in here a couple of years ago I took the opportunity to make everything neat…

➜ NEWS HIGHLIGHTS LOEWE TV brand announces OLED with 'Syno Stone' build JBL Affordable Stage loudspeaker series GRADO Third-gen open-back wireless headphones MOBILE FIDELITY Audiophile company cooks up its first speaker AT THE PLEX This month's cinema releases HALLOWEEN ENDS Slasher franchise finale announced for 4K & MORE! Go with the Pro SVS Prime Wireless Pro ➜ www.svsound.com SVS reckons it's bringing 'reference sound quality' to the wireless speaker market with its £899 Prime Wireless Pro. This DTS Play-Fi-enabled system features two active desktop speakers, with 5.25in bass/mid and 1in tweeter, driven by a 4x50W onboard amp stage. A 24-bit/ 192kHz DAC caters to hi-res sources, while connections include Wi-Fi/Ethernet (with AirPlay 2 and Chromecast), Bluetooth, HDMI and optical. A subwoofer pre-out enables the addition of a dedicated bass…

Every issue delivered to your door Great savings on the shop price Download each new issue to your device A 74% discount on your Digital subscription Access your subscription on multiple devices Every issue delivered to your door Great savings on the shop price Never miss an issue SUBSCRIBE TODAY SUBSCRIBE SECURELY ONLINE https://subs.homecinemachoice.com TERMS & CONDITIONS: Offer ends 31st December 2022. *Discounts may vary dependent on payment method selected. Annual term may vary. Please see www.homecinemachoice.com/terms for full terms & conditions SAVE 74% ON DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTIONS CALL OUR ORDER LINE 01858 438 446 (quote ref HCC2022) Lines open Mon -Fri - 9.00am - 6.00pm GMT Calls are charged at the same rate as standard UK landlines and are included as part of any inclusive or free minutes allowances. There are…

WWW.HOMECINEMACHOICE.COM ➜ HARDWARE AMPS & RECEIVERS Primare, Arcam, Anthem, Denon, Trinnov, Emotiva, Musical Fidelity TVs Sony, Samsung, TCL, Philips, LG, Panasonic LOUDSPEAKERS Monitor Audio, Piega, GoldenEar, Perlisten PROJECTORS JVC, Xgimi, Sony, Epson, BenQ SOUNDBARS Samsung, Devialet, B&W SUBWOOFERS KEF, REL, Velodyne, M&K PLUS Headphones, streamers and more! Living large Xgimi's laser-powered Aura projector combines ultra-short-throw 4K HDR optics with an Android smart system and Harman Kardon audio. We fire it up on p71…

WWW.ANTHEMAV.COM/£6,749 SPECIFICATIONS DOLBY ATMOS: Yes DTS:X: Yes IMAX ENHANCED: Yes MULTICH. PRE-OUT: Yes. 15.4 XLR and phono MULTIROOM: Yes. Zone 2 AV INPUTS: 5 xdigital audio (3 x optical and 2 xcoaxial); 5 xanalogue stereo HDMI: 7 xin; 3 xout DIMENSIONS: 432(w) x 364(d) x 152(h)mm WEIGHT: 10.1kg FEATURES: Built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth; Chromecast and AirPlay 2; Spotify Connect; Roon support; web-based user interface; ARC (Anthem Room Correction) Genesis; calibrated mic/stand; IR input; 12V triggers; Ethernet; RS232 serial connector; third party integration and IP control; ESS Sabre 32-bit/768kHz DAC; HDMI 2.1 with support for 8K/60, 4K/120, VRR, ALLM, HDR10+ ANTHEM’S AVM 90 has been a long time coming, but it heralds the completion of the Canadian brand's upgraded AV lineup. And the delayed arrival of this top-flight processor hasn't really…

WWW.ARCAM.CO.UK/£2,799 SPECIFICATIONS DOLBY ATMOS: Yes DTS:X: Yes IMAX ENHANCED: Yes MULTICH. PRE-OUT: Yes. 11.1 POWER OUTPUT (CLAIMED): 7 x60W (8ohm) MULTIROOM: No HDMI: 7 xin; 2 xout AV INPUTS: 6 xdigital audio (2 x opt. and 4 xcoax.); 6 xanalogue stereo DIMENSIONS: 433(w) x 425(d) x 171(h)mm WEIGHT: 16.5kg FEATURES: Class A/B amplification; Auro-3D; 2 x8ch ESS 9026PRO DACs; built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth aptX HD; Chromecast and AirPlay 2; web-based setup/control; Dirac Live; FM/DAB tuner; calibrated mic; IR input; 12V trigger; Ethernet; USB port; RS232 connector; MusicLife iOS UPnP and control app; Room Ready; MQA support; HDMI 2.1 with HDCP 2.3; 8K/60, 4K/120, HDR10, HLG, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision passthrough ANYONE WHO HAS seen This is Spinal Tap will remember Nigel Tufnell proclaiming the band’s amplifiers go up to 11.…

WWW.LG.COM/UK/£2,099 SPECIFICATIONS 4K: Yes. 3,840 x 2,160 HDR: Yes. HDR10; HLG; Dolby Vision TUNER: Yes. Freeview HD; satellite HD 4K/120 PLAYBACK: Yes CONNECTIONS: 4 xHDMI in; 3 xUSB; Ethernet; optical audio out SOUND (CLAIMED): 40W, two-channel BRIGHTNESS (CLAIMED): N/A CONTRAST RATIO (CLAIMED): N/A DIMENSIONS (OFF STAND): 1,441(w) x 826(h) x 45.1(d)mm WEIGHT (OFF STAND): 14.8kg FEATURES: Built-in Wi-Fi; Bluetooth; Alpha 9 Gen 5 processing engine; WebOS system with ThinQ AI; voice control; Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa compatible; Filmmaker Mode; Dolby Vision IQ; Game Optimizer; VRR; Nvidia G-Sync; AMD FreeSync; Auto Low Latency Mode; eARC; Freeview Play FACED WITH THE prospect of serious OLED competition from outside the LG Display family for the first time, LG has pointedly raised its game with its C2 TV. This latest iteration of its…

WWW.PHILIPS.CO.UK/£2,899 WAVES CRASH TO my left and right, the soundtrack muffles and bubbles rise dead centre as the protagonist is pulled under water. A lurid green sea creature wraps its tentacles around the vivid red sails of a pirate ship, in blistering Dolby Vision clarity. I’m being swept overboard by the scale of the performance. Am I’m enjoying a full-blown home theatre? No, it's Philips' new OLED+937 telly. I’m watching The Sea Beast, a 2022 CG animation on Netflix, in a brightly lit room. The 65in panel of the Philips set provides a suitable bigscreen experience, as does the sound coming from the TV's built-in Dolby Atmos audio system. This new model builds on its direct predecessor, the OLED+936 (HCC #324). Actually, maybe 'builds on' is too tame. This is…

WWW.GOLDENEAR.COM/£5,350 SPECIFICATIONS Bookshelf Reference X DRIVERS: 1 x6in bass/mid; 1 xHVFR; 2 x6.5in LF radiators ENCLOSURE: Sealed FREQ. RESP (CLAIMED): 40Hz-35kHz SENSITIVITY (CLAIMED): 90dB POWER HANDLING (CLAIMED): 250W DIMENSIONS: 205(w) x 311(h) x 308(d)mm WEIGHT: 5.44kg SuperCenter X DRIVERS: 2 x5.25in bass/mid; 1 xHVFR; 1 x7x10in LF radiator ENCLOSURE: Sealed FREQ. RESP (CLAIMED): 45Hz-35kHz SENSITIVITY (CLAIMED): 90dB POWER HANDLING (CLAIMED): 200W DIMENSIONS: 508(w) x 146(h) x 280(d)mm WEIGHT: 7kg SuperSub X DRIVERS: 2 x8in long-throw bass drivers; 2 x10.5x9.5in radiators ONBOARD POWER (CLAIMED): 1,400W ForceField digital amplifier ENCLOSURE: Sealed FREQ. RESP (CLAIMED): 12-250Hz REMOTE: No DIMENSIONS: 356(h) x 325(w) x 335(d)mm WEIGHT: 18.1kg GOLDENEAR WAS THE third loudspeaker company founded by famed designer Sandy Gross, following in the footsteps of Polk Audio and Definitive Technology. Gross has now left, but…

WWW.PIEGA.CH/£8,340 SWISS LOUDSPEAKER MAKER Piega has a penchant for aluminium enclosures, ribbon tweeters, and the kind of meticulous handcrafted engineering you'd expect from a nation best known for its precision timepieces. And its Ace series ticks off all these boxes. The range sits towards the lower end of the catalogue, although it's not strictly the entry point, which is reserved for the Classic series. Passive Ace speakers debuted around a year ago (see HCC #326), but now there's a wireless upgrade adding two important features – integrated amplification and support for the WiSA transmission standard. The latter was developed by the Wireless Speaker and Audio Association. Its headline tricks are low latency, rapid synchronisation, and support for up to eight 24-bit/96kHz channels simultaneously. This makes it ideal for multichannel audio,…

WWW.MONITORAUDIO.COM/£2,900 AUDITIONED HERE IS a multichannel system assembled from the seventh generation of Monitor Audio's mid-range Silver Series. There are, naturally, changes aplenty, but these speakers have a vibe about them of being made by a brand that knows exactly what it's doing, and has done so for a while... By this I mean there's nothing overtly flash about the Silver 7Gs; no obvious attempt to reinvent the wheel. Tried and trusted technologies rub shoulders with new ideas in cabinets that manage to look both thoroughly modern but also understated. Monitor Audio even has all bases covered when it comes to finishes: Satin White and High Gloss Black for those with minimalist tastes, plus Black Oak, Ash and Natural Walnut veneers for those of the older school. Build quality and…

WWW.DEVIALET.COM/£1,990 SPECIFICATIONS DRIVERS: 9 x1.6in full-range; 8 x5.25in bass ONBOARD POWER (CLAIMED): 950W analogue digital hybrid (ADH) technology CONNECTIONS: HDMI eARC; optical digital audio input; Ethernet DOLBY ATMOS/DTS:X: Yes/No SEPARATE SUB: No REMOTE: No. app or optional Phantom controller DIMENSIONS: 1,200(w) x 88(h) x 165(d)mm WEIGHT: 12kg FEATURES: Wall-mounting; rotatable Orb centre driver; AirPlay 2; Spotify Connect; UPnP; Bluetooth v5.0; Movie/Spatial, Music, Voice and Night listening modes; SPACE upmixing; Adaptive Volume Level (AVL); Speaker Active Matching (SAM); 'Advanced Dimensional Experience' beam-forming; 24-bit/96kHz DAC; room calibration HI-FI AUTEUR DEVIALET has a knack for delivering seismic bass from compact boxes, as seen in its celebrated Phantom speakers that rock like enclosures three times the size. Now comes the Dione, the brand’s first Dolby Atmos soundbar, and it punches even lower. This is…

WWW.TCL.COM/UK/£500 GETTING TO GRIPS with TCL's C935U is a bit like playing pass-the-parcel. The longer you carry on, the more gifts it delivers. What's on offer here for just £499 is quite remarkable. The key spec is that this is a Dolby Atmos/ DTS:X-equipped system, with physical upfiring drivers on the soundbar and a wireless 8in subwoofer (not pictured) for deep bass. Measuring over 1m wide, the main enclosure is a match for TVs 50in and above. Connectivity is very generous, including two HDMI inputs and eARC, Bluetooth, and DTS Play-Fi, the latter letting you shunt tunes (including hi-res) to the 'bar from music-ondemand platforms including Tidal, Qobuz and Deezer. It also supports Apple AirPlay, Chromecast, and Spotify Connect. The soundbar has dual driver arrays for left, centre and right…

WWW.JVC.CO.UK/£11,499 JVC'S NATIVE 4K projectors have wowed with laser-powered lighting, class-leading blacks and dynamic HDR tone mapping, but the cost of admission ain’t cheap. Tested here is the DLA-NZ7, the entry-point into the laser line-up with a price tag of £11,499. On paper the NZ7 appears very similar to the DLA-NZ8 (see HCC #329), with exactly the same chassis, three-chip 4K (4,096 x 2,160) D-ILA device, BLU-Escent laser light source, and 17-element, 15-group all-glass 65mm lens. Both also have twin HDMI 2.1 inputs (accepting 8K/60p and 4K/120p, plus HDR10+) and a trio of HDR tricks: Auto Tone Mapping reads HDR metadata and adjusts the static tone mapping accordingly; Frame Adapt HDR analyses the HDR signal and dynamically changes the tone mapping; and Theatre Optimiser matches HDR delivery to your screen’s…

UK.XGIMI.COM/£2,399 SPECIFICATIONS 3D: Yes. Active shutter 4K: Yes. 3,840 x 2,160 (via DLP double flashing) HDR: Yes. HDR10 CONNECTIONS: 3 xHDMI inputs; 3 xUSB; headphone jack; optical audio output BRIGHTNESS (CLAIMED): 2,400 Lumens CONTRAST (CLAIMED): N/A ZOOM: N/A DIMENSIONS: 606(w) x 139.5(h) x 401(d)mm WEIGHT: 11kg FEATURES: Ultra-short-throw single-chip DLP with single laser and colour wheel optics; built-in Harman Kardon speaker system; 20,000-hour claimed laser life; Movie, Game, Office, Football and Custom picture presets; 100in image from 9.7in throw distance; Android TV smart system XGIMI IS A relatively new Chinese brand on a mission to shake up the home entertainment market – and if its Aura ultra-short-throw projector is anything to go by, it'll soon find plenty of fans. Selling for around £2,399, this beamer feels like serious value for…

WWW.VELODYNEACOUSTICS.COM/£795 SPECIFICATIONS DRIVERS: 1 x8in 'high-excursion' woofer with four-layer voice coil ONBOARD POWER (CLAIMED): 300W Class A/B amp ENCLOSURE: Sealed FREQUENCY RESPONSE (CLAIMED): 32Hz-180Hz (-3dB) REMOTE: No DIMENSIONS: 280(w) x 260(h) x 290(d) mm WEIGHT: 9kg FEATURES: RCA LFE input/output; stereo RCA input; speaker-level input; variable phase; gain control; 50Hz-180Hz crossover; on/off/auto power WHILE VELODYNE IS probably most famous for its alarmingly large LFE air-moving devices, the brand does ‘small’ rather well too. Several incarnations of its little MicroVee series included some of the smallest, fastest and, dare I say, cutest subwoofers I ever had the pleasure to clap eyes and ears on. Having recently evicted a pair of Velodyne DD18+ subwoofers (with dustbin lid-sized 18in drivers) from my cinema room (see p26), the DB-8 looks absolutely minuscule. The smallest…

WWW.REL.NET/£1,799 SPECIFICATIONS DRIVERS: 1 x15in custom CarbonGlas bass driver ENCLOSURE: Sealed ONBOARD POWER (CLAIMED): 1,000W Class A/B linear power supply amplifier FREQUENCY RESPONSE (CLAIMED): 20Hz-200Hz REMOTE CONTROL: No DIMENSIONS: 540(w) x 457(h) x 494(d) mm WEIGHT: 45kg FEATURES: Stereo/LFE phono in/out; balanced XLR in/out; phase switch; auto-power switch; gain control; 30Hz- 200Hz crossover adjustment; compatible with REL HT-Air wireless kit; rail feet enable 'Line Array' stacking; 'BrilliantBrace' cabinet construction; Perfect Filter technology REL’S DEDICATED HOME Theatre (HT) Series subs have been winning over home cinema enthusiasts for a few years now, with a three-strong lineup in 10in, 12in and 15in guises packing 300W, 500W and 800W amps, respectively. The naming protocol is genius too; HT/1003, HT/1205 and the original flagship HT/1508 (HCC #296) came to our auditoriums with the suffix…

WWW.ROKU.COM/£39 ROKU’S SLIMMEST MEDIA streamer isn’t short on features. A clear challenger to Amazon’s Fire TV 4K Max (reviewed HCC #326), the Streaming Stick 4K comes in a little cheaper than its rival, has advanced voice search functionality, and boasts a far less frantic interface. If you’re looking to upgrade from an old (perhaps HD) streamer, it could be just what the doctor ordered – provided the prescription was for Dolby Vision/Atmos and a shiny new Roku operating system. As is the way, the HDMI stick itself is utilitarian in terms of design and features. It's black, rectangular and plugs into a screen or AV receiver, and takes power via a supplied USB cable. Yet there's a benefit to this compact profile, as it slots easily into the back of…

THIS TIME LAST year I described 2021 as a ‘terrific year for home entertainment connoisseurs,’ and while I don’t want to sound like a broken record, the same has definitely been true of 2022. Don’t believe me? Take a look at this year’s Movie Awards (p21). See what I mean? The inspired brilliance of Top Gun: Maverick would be enough to make this a banner year for 4K Blu-ray. But it's only the cherry on top of a tasty UHD cake that also includes Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Dune [2021], Last Night in Soho, Raging Fire, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Scream [2022], West Side Story [2021], The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, The Batman, The Northman, Bullet Train and Elvis. And those are just some of the new movies that have been…

WWW.HOMECINEMACHOICE.COM Gunning for trouble Universal Noir #1 ➜ Indicator ➜ Blu-ray ➜ SOFTWARE HIGHLIGHTS NOPE Jordan Peele sci-fi mystery lands on UHD BD THE DRIVER 4K restoration for influential 1978 Walter Hill thriller ANDOR Spectacular Star Wars prequel series UNIVERSAL CLASSIC MONSTERS The Mummy and chums scare up an Ultra HD Blu-ray boxset GOD OF WAR: RAGNAROK Epic action-adventure on PS5 & MORE! Shelley Winters and Joan Caulfield go toe-to-toe in 1948 film noir Larceny, one of the six titles from the Universal library to make its UK hi-def debut in Indicator's bumper Blu-ray boxset. We settle down for a movie marathon of murder, mystery and gun-toting dames on p100.…

➜COLUMBIA CLASSICS 4K ULTR A HD COL.: VOLUME 3 It's that time of year again, when Sony Pictures goes digging around in the Columbia Pictures archive for six feature films to re-release on 4K Blu-ray… First up is Frank Capra's fantastically funny screwball comedy It Happened One Night (1934), starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. Slipping forward two decades, Fred Zinnemann's starstudded World War II romantic drama From Here to Eternity (1953) serves as this set's cinematic epic. And while school-set drama To Sir, With Love (1967) may not have aged particularly well (its teen delinquents are oddly cozy), Sidney Poitier is excellent as usual. On to the 1970s, where Peter Bogdanovich's The Last Picture Show (1971) blends gritty comingof-age drama with biting social commentary as two high school seniors…

A LOOK AT a list of the highest grossing films in North America for 1982 shows what an odd and unpredictable place the movie industry was at the time. This was, after all, the year when Dustin Hoffman's cross-dressing comedy Tootsie would become the second biggest film of the year and Porky's (No. 5) would take more at the box office than Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (No. 6), 48 Hrs. (No. 7) or Poltergeist (No. 8). Who would have guessed that when the year finished it would belong to a warm-hearted tale of a young boy who befriends a magical extraterrestrial accidentally left stranded on our planet? Given the apparent lack of interest in traditional family fare at the multiplex, you might have expected Universal's other Summer…